Thousands of children roam the streets of Manila, forced to scavenge, beg or even resort to prostitution because of poverty. For many of them, education is not an option as their families struggle to put food on the table, much more send their kids to school. Dropouts are also at an alarming rate, further dampening the possibility of their breaking the poverty cycle.

Having been assigned to the Philippines, French Jesuit priest, Fr. Pierre Tritz learned about the plight of Filipino street children and embarked on a mission to set it right. He gave up his French citizenship to become a naturalized Filipino citizen, and established the Educational Research and Development Assistance (ERDA) Foundation in 1974 to give street children a fighting chance at a better life.

During a visit to the Philippines, Ramon and Dellie Sierra had a chance encounter with Fr. Pierre, who, as is typical of him to everyone he meets, immediately filled them in on the realities Filipino street children face and how ERDA aims to improve them. Inspired and motivated when they came back to Spain, the couple founded the Intramuros Pro Infancia Filipina in 2003 to help ERDA with its funding needs.